All U.S. Patents and Patent Applications disclosed herein are entirely incorporated by reference.
It has long been a necessity, particularly within the textile industry, to provide substrates that exhibit a number of simultaneous wash or abrasion durable properties. Most notably, water repellency, oil repellency, stain resistance, and stain release characteristics are highly desirable to facilitate cleaning of substrates, if not to prevent complete staining thereof. Unfortunately, provision of such simultaneous and wash or abrasion durable characteristics has been severely limited due to the general difficulties with meeting certain surface energy requirements throughout the wash or abrasion durable life of such a substrate. Generally, coatings or other treatments have not been readily available or widely known that can provide coexistent water and oil repellency and stain release on a wash durable basis to textile substrates (or other surfaces) because the surface energy profile required for one of these properties is disparately different from the surface energy profile required to impart the other property at the same time.
Although there have been some instances of initial simultaneous existence of both properties on certain substrates (as noted below), unfortunately, the degree of wash-durability thereof has been unacceptable for long-term utilization of target substrates. As a result, any significant reduction in either oil or water repellency consequently reduces stain repellency as well. With a reduced propensity to repel stains, the ability to effectuate proper stain release may likewise be diminished, particularly upon exposure to greater degrees of staining and wherein the surface energy profile needed for proper stain release function (which is similar to that needed to impart the aforementioned water and oil repellency properties) is compromised (e.g., is not wash or abrasion durable).
Hence, truly effective wash or abrasion durable, long-term, stain repellent, stain release, and soil resistant treatments have not been forthcoming, since simultaneous prevention of both polar (aqueous) and non-polar (olefinic) liquid penetration into such textile substrate surfaces has been very difficult to achieve that can withstand multiple wash and/or abrasion cycles. Market and consumer demands have shown that it would be desirable to render various textile substrates resistant to staining by as many common staining materials as possible and simultaneously render the substrates with improved stain removal characteristics by using routine cleaning procedures appropriate for the substrates. These cleaning procedures may include washing, such as in a home or industrial laundering machine, or spot cleaning procedures, such as used for upholstery. In addition, various other routine cleaning procedures, such as those employed for carpet cleaning and dry cleaning, are contemplated.
As one non-limiting example of a textile substrate, floorcovering articles, particularly the pile portion of such articles (e.g., the portion which is designed to be in contact with pedestrians' footwear, such as tufted fibers, cut pile fibers, loop pile fibers, and the like), are highly susceptible to staining, dirt accumulation, liquid spills, and the like. With pedestrians walking on such surfaces, it has been extremely challenging for floorcovering manufacturers to provide floorcovering articles that resist such attacks and maintain their original appearance after long-term use. Attempts by others to provide finishing treatments to floorcovering articles have included applying fluorochemical compounds to the surface of the article, for example, by spray coating. However, because the fluorochemical compounds applied in this manner appear to remain on the top and outside of the yarn bundles comprising a carpeted floorcovering article, rather than penetrating into the yarn bundle, such a process typically fails to provide the desired level of water and oil repellency. Furthermore, fluorochemical compounds applied in this fashion are easily worn off and thus, fail to provide the desired level of durability.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a finishing treatment for a textile substrate which provides long-term, durable stain and soil resistance and water and/or oil repellency to the treated substrate. Such durability is achieved, for example, after exposure of the textile substrate to 10000 cycles of ASTM D4966-98 Martindale Abrasion. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a process for applying the finishing treatment to the textile substrate, wherein the process provides a treated substrate that exhibits durable stain and soil resistance and water and/or oil repellency.